Waiting
by Kishiro Kitsune
Summary: Oneshot. Set after DOTES but before Family Bonds. For years they wait for them to come so they could be reunited. Now the wait is finally over and they can live in peace.


_**Waiting**_

Summary: one-shot. Takes place after DOTES and before 'Family Bonds'. For years they wait for them to come so they could be reunited. Now the wait is finally over and they can live in peace.

_**-W-A-I-T-I-N-G--W-A-I-T-I-N-G--W-A-I-T-I-N-G--W-A-I-T-I-N-G--W-A-I-T-I-N-G--W-A-I-T-I-N-G-**_

_Part 1_

**Unknown POV**

The wind gently blows through my hair while the sunlight caresses my face. The gentle sound of waves from the river and the call of the Eternal Birds from overhead break the silence. In the distance the usual bustle of the village can be heard.

Everything is perfect.

I sigh and turn my head away from the sun, lowering my eyes to the perfect green grass beneath me. _'No.' _I think bitterly. _'Everything isn't perfect. I have no one to share this with… sure mother and father are here, and grandfather, but…' _I run my hands over the grass, trying to put my feelings into words. '_I miss them… I miss my Ryou, my love. I miss my yami, my other half. I miss my friends, my family, I miss…. Living.'_ A single tear drops onto the grass and I make no move to wipe away the trail. Instead, I allow more to fall, taking the time to wallow in self-pity just this once…

"Tama-chan, don't cry."

I gasp at the sound of the voice. A voice I have only heard in my distant dreams. I jerk my head up to meet soft brown eyes. "Ryou-kun…" I whisper. I gently reach out and touch his face, afraid it's just another dream and that he'll disappear once more.

Ryou kneels down in front of me and wipes away my tears. "Don't cry, Tama-chan. Tears don't suit you." He says it with a gentle smile on his face. The one that never fails to cheer me up.

I laugh as I embrace him, the shock of finally seeing him again wearing off. "Ryou-kun!" I happily shout. The two of us land on the grass with me on top. Ryou just laughs before leaning forward and kissing me on the cheek.

The next thing I know he has wiggled out from under me and is standing a few feet away. "You're it!" He exclaims, before turning around and running.

I can't help but laugh. We haven't done this for a long time. I quickly scramble to my feet and run after him, trying my best not to trip over my own feet. I soon loose sight of Ryou as he runs over a hill and I berate myself for not remembering how fast Ryou is.

I soon reach the top of the hill and look around for him. I don't see him. My heart drops and I lower my eyes to the ground as I kick the grass. What was I expecting? Him to lead my to where everyone is waiting? Yeah, right. It's been just another daydream of mine. More like a nightmare than anything though. I can't even remember how long I've been waiting nor do I want to know.

I feel guilty for wanted them to be here. I don't want them to die, I really don't! I just miss them all so much… It's normal, right? To want to be with the ones you love forever?

Out of nowhere something tackles me and I fall to the ground unharmed. I lay there for a moment, stunned by the sudden movement, until I regain my senses. I look up, about ready to tell off Padfoot for jumping on me again and freeze when I see who it is.

Soft white hair. Kind brown eyes. It's not a dream.

"You're suppose to be 'it', you know." Ryou softly says. "That means when I hide you're suppose to come and find me."

I can't help but giggle. It's just like we're kids again in England and playing tag-and-hide in the yard. Except this time Seto-nii-chan, Malik-kun, Mokuba-nii-chan, and Kiba-nii-chan aren't with us. "Ah, I suppose I'd forgotten in my old age. Please forgive me, kind sir." I say jokingly.

Ryou laughs. Oh how I have missed that.

"Don't be silly, Tama. You're not old." Ryou says.

I smile. "I know."

"Good." Ryou murmurs, before leaning down and gently kissing me. A familiar warmth spreads through my body at the touch and I automatically slip my arms around his neck to pull him closer.

The kiss ends sooner than I wished, but as we still need to breath I suppose it's entirely necessary. We lay there for a moment in each others arms, neither of us wanting to move. Then Ryou sits up, pulling me with him so I wind up in his lap.

"How long has it been?" He murmurs, kissing the top of my head.

"Too long." I reply, snuggling into his embrace. _'Far too long.'_

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_Part 2_

**Unknown POV**

Floating. Just for a moment I'm floating in bliss. And then I'm falling. A scream rips from my throat as a pure white light blinds me. I throw my arms in front of my face in an effort to block the light and then I hit the ground heavily.

Ouch. That seriously hurt. I think I landed on something. Alright, lets take this one thing at a time. I fell asleep, floated a bit, fell, and now I'm in pain. Kind of. I think it's more of a shock than pain. Now lets see if I can move. At all. What should I start with? Ah, my foot. Yes, that will work. Ha! It moved! Now my other foot. I'm alive! If I could get up I'd do a little dance. Well, if I wanted to make a fool out of myself I would.

One by one I test my limbs to make sure they still work properly. Thankfully they do. Now I just have to figure out where the heck I am. It's defiantly not my bed, unless my adorable grandchild has once again put grass in my bed. I slowly crack my eyes open and find myself in a place I've never seen before. I groan as I roll over onto my stomach. Well, that rules out my original idea. I'm so not in Kansas anymore.

It is rather pretty, wherever it is that I am. There's grass, a river, and… well, grass. I think I see some trees too.

I carefully get up so I can get a better look around, going slowly so I down hurt myself. Strangely, I feel very… energetic? I haven't felt this way for a long time. I glance down to see what I'm wearing, somehow not surprised to find that I'm not in my nightgown. Instead I'm wearing my old pair of baggy beige jeans and a black shirt that almost clings to my upper body. Goddess, I haven't worn anything like this in ages!

I turn my attention to the landscape and try to turn around. I trip. How… unremarkable. Anyway, I land in the water. Holy shit! With a hiss I spring out of the water and scramble onto the bank, my ears pinned back against my head. Waitasecond.

I peer into the water to examine my reflection. First I have to wait for the water to settle down a little so in the meantime I go back over my thoughts. Hissing. Ears pinned back. What in the name of Bastet is going on here!

By now the water has cleared and I can see my reflection somewhat clearly. I stare for a moment and then lift a hand up to touch the strange markings on one of my cheeks. I note with some amusement that my skin is actually tan for once and that I'm wearing the golden bracelet's Malik got me for my birthday one year. The markings are thin brown stripes, three on each cheek. A series of small brown dots surround them. More remarkable are the golden-brown cat ears on top of my head. With a quick glance behind, I determine that I do indeed have a matching cat tail.

Damn.

"Dream."

I freeze at the word, feeling as if my heart has skipped a beat. That voice is so familiar, and yet it's not.

"Little dream, welcome home."

A name, a very familiar name, tumbles from my lips as I turn around. "Guardian?" I gasp, for standing in front of my is none other than my twin brother. My 18-year-old twin brother. What's the significance of that, you ask? Well, seeing as how he died when we were 15-years old it's a bit strange to see him being 18.

Liam smiles at me gently. "Come on sis, everyone's been waiting." He says as he reaches a hand out to help me up. I take it with a smile to match his, and he leads me away.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_Part 3_

**Normal (third person) POV**

A large house sets in the forest. A cheerful atmosphere surrounds it and laughter and talking can be heard coming from inside of it. This is the house where everyone is waiting.

Inside almost everyone is in the living room just hanging out. Holly and Mariku are seated on the couch beside Yami, who has Yugi in his lap. Odeon is resting in a recliner set over in a corner. On the floor Bakura, Yume, Tama, Ryou, Damian, and Riley are playing cards. Bakura and Damian are losing horribly. Serenity, Duke, Tea, and Tristan have seated themselves on the other couch.

In the kitchen are Ishizu, Kiba, Kojiro, Seto, Mokuba, and Joey. Ishizu is cooking, with the not-so-helpful help of Kiba and Kojiro. Seto and Joey are arguing over something or other and Mokuba's laughing at what they're saying.

The door to the large house opens and Liam steps inside, practically glowing with happiness. "Tadaima!" He happily exclaims.

"Okaeri." A few of the others greet.

Liam claps his hands together. "Alright, listen up! I have, out of the sincerity of my heart-"

"What did you bring home this time, Liam?" Riley asks, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's not another dog is it? Padfoot is big enough of a handful."

"No, no. You see, I was out along the river and I found the most adorable kitten in the world! I couldn't very well leave here there. That would piss several of you off." Liam replies. "Particularly Malik. And maybe you, Damian."

"What the hell are you on?" Bakura asks.

Liam grins and drags Ashling out from around the corner. "See, isn't she cute?"

The house falls into silence. Even everyone in the kitchen, who came out to see what Liam had done, are quiet.

"Ash?" Damian asks, his eyes wide.

Ashling smiles weakly, her cat ears flickering toward the sound. "Hey, guys."

"Kitty-pretty! Mariku missed you lots!" Marik screams as he zooms forward and hugs her. Holly is a millisecond behind him.

After much hugging, Ashling eventually sneaks away from the crowd and heads upstairs, finding it all too suffocating. Sure she's missed her friends and family, but they can be rather overwhelming.

Somehow the layout of the house is familiar to her, but she can't recall why. Instead, Ashling just lets her intuition and her feet guide her. She comes to a door and pauses in front of it before carefully opening it and peering in. Her heart leaps.

Laying on a black blanketed bed is Malik, just how she remembers him at age 18. Sandy blonde hair falls over his closed eyes, which are still lined with kohl. Golden arm bands, necklaces, and earrings adorn his body, the color standing out against the black blankets and his purple shirt.

With the grace and swiftness of a cat, Ashling enters the room and walks over to the bed. She kneels before it and gently strokes Malik's face. "Malik-kun…"

Lilac eyes flicker open and it takes Malik a moment to register what he's seeing. When he does, he sits up quickly. "Ashling!" He exclaims, recognizing her immediately. "You look… wow."

Ashling blushes. "You really like it?" She asks uncertainly. Not used to hearing everything so clearly or wearing the golden bracelets.

"It looks good." Malik assures her. "Now come up here so I can hold you and never let go ever again."

Ashling happily obliges.

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_Part 4_

A woman with raven hair and bronze skin sighs heavily. "And the balance is finally restored. No thanks to you, Sekhmet." She gives a look almost like a glare to a golden-haired woman standing nearby.

Sekhmet smirks. "Dearest, Hathor. Must you place all of the blame upon me? Seth did help you know."

"Not without you there to string him along." Hathor snaps. She then sighs heavily and collects herself. "Nevertheless, everything has turned out fairly well. Some events transpired that weren't meant to be," Here she glares at Sekhmet, who just continues smirking in reply. "but perhaps things will go properly the next time."

"If you can get them to agree." Sekhmet agrees.

Hathor narrows her eyes. "Sekhmet, you will _not _interfere. Do you hear me?" She patiently asks.

"I hear you."

Hathor sighs, but gives up. She knows that's the best she'll get out of the Goddess of War. "Bastet!" She calls instead, noticing the cat-loving Goddess trying to sneak past her.

Bastet freezes, her black cat ears laying against her head. Slowly she turns to face Hathor. "Oh, hello."

"Bastet, where are you going?" Hathor asks.

"Umm…" Bastet bites her lip. "I wanted to go talk to Ashling. I heard she arrived the other day. Please don't tell father I was trying to sneak out!"

'_I feel a headache coming on…' _Hathor grumbles in her mind. "I won't tell if you turn around and stop trying to sneak out. You'll get to talk to her soon enough."

"Okay…"

Sekhmet rolls her eyes. "You have eternity to talk to her, cat-girl."

Bastet just sticks her tongue out and utters, "Nyaa!" before turning and going back into their realm.

"My shift is now over and Seth will be here soon." Hathor says. She notices Sekhmet has no inclination to move. "And you're coming with me to talk to Ra, Horus, and Osiris."

"What? No!"

"Yes." Hathor says with finality, before practically dragging the other Goddess in the same direction Bastet went. They pass Seth along the way, and he pauses and watches in confusion for a moment before shrugging in dismissal and continuing on. Stranger things have happened.

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Shiro: So here I am, reading a fanfiction while working on 'Family Bonds' when I get hit with a question- What is my reason for changing everything around? And thus, this was born. For those of you who don't know, Hathor was a protective Goddess and the wife of Horus. Horus was the God of the Sky. Sekhmet was the goddess of war and Seth was the god of chaos. Osiris was the god of the dead and ruler of the underworld. Bastet was also a protective goddess and her symbol was cats.

Bast: And in other news...

Shiro: SCHOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER! WOO-HOO! Time to party! I feel like doing a little dance.

Bast: Please don't.

Shiro: Lucky you, I'm too tired to dance. Me and my friends hung out after school for about five hours and I don't think I've ever laughed so much or so hard in my life. Couldn't breath there for a few seconds 'cause two of my friends made me laugh so hard. Anyway, let me know what you think of this, please.


End file.
